Wouldn't it be nice to walk down my street and see well maintained houses. And wouldn't it be nice to not feel threatened by the youth on my street. Wouldn't it be nice to go two weeks without seeing police cars on the street. Wouldn't it be nice to no longer hear about stabbings, shooting and gang violence. Wouldn't it be great to have the gang houses actually closed down. Wouldn't it be great to see kids on bikes going to the park to play instead of delivering drugs?
Could you imagine a day when the criminals of our city are picked up and put in jail? What would my North End be like if the gangs were shut down?
I don't understand why it is so difficult to remove gang graffiti. The removal of the graffiti would be a start. But it is caught in red tape.
I don't understand why it is so difficult to close a gang house. The police know where they are, and know who comes and goes from the houses. If they are identified as gang houses, shut them down.
I don't understand why it is so difficult to stop known houses from dealing drugs. When they are identified, reported to the police and Safer Communities, it takes months / years for investigations to begin. And when they do actually get investigated, issues are only dealt with if the person dealing is on the lease. And if that happens the people are asked to move. Then they just move next door or the next street over. How is that helping anything? How does that make a community safer? It doesn't.
I don't understand why bad behaviour is allowed to continue in lower income communities. That just encourages even worse behaviour.
Wouldn't it be great if criminals were charged with crimes?
Wouldn't it be great if by-laws were enforced?
Wouldn't it be great if illegal garbage dumpers were prosecuted?
Wouldn't it be great if the North End was a valued community in Winnipeg?
And wouldn't it be great if we stopped saying "it is just the North End" and "what do you expect".
Wouldn't it be great if we expected better.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
It's A New Year, Winnipeg
We are starting a new year, which is generally a time for hope, a time for resolutions, and a time for change.
Last year Winnipeg was met with 39 homicides, the last one happening on the very last day of the year. Apparently there were shots fired on Selkirk Ave and two went to hospital. One did not survive.
Violence spilled over into 2012, with our first day showing a variety of incidences. There were shots fired in the in the 400 block of Aberdeen Avenue. A couple of fires on Government Ave and Corydon Ave happened overnight and are under investigation. There was also a stabbing on Kennedy Street to round off the day.
What are we to do about all of this crime and violence that seems to be taking over our City?
Really, what are we to do?
If we followed the lead of City Hall, Mayor Katz, and those in charge of informing us of crimes, we could simply brush it all under the rug. We could adjust the information given to the public, adjust what the media reports on, and adjust the stats collected. We could have a City where our Mayor proudly proclaims that our Downtown is safe and we need not fear our streets. We could have a City where the Crime Stats show no violent acts. Simply remove the homicides and shootings from the listings, just as the arsons, assaults, and stabbings are missing from public view.
We could run our City like George Orwell's 1984, where words dissapear from dictionaries. We could have a City where everyone turns a blind eye to crime, just as long as it is not in the more affluent areas of town, and remove it from our thoughts completely.
Winnipeg is a great place to be in 2012. We have our hockey team back. We are building a fancy rapid transit corridor. We have a Human Rights Museum being built. We have a new football stadium hopefully opening this year. What a great City. All we have to do is erase the fact that violence is taking over our City. Just scrub away a few more statistics, and we will have that great City we know Winnipeg can be.
Lie to me baby, and tell me the North End of Winnipeg is a safe place to be.
Last year Winnipeg was met with 39 homicides, the last one happening on the very last day of the year. Apparently there were shots fired on Selkirk Ave and two went to hospital. One did not survive.
Violence spilled over into 2012, with our first day showing a variety of incidences. There were shots fired in the in the 400 block of Aberdeen Avenue. A couple of fires on Government Ave and Corydon Ave happened overnight and are under investigation. There was also a stabbing on Kennedy Street to round off the day.
What are we to do about all of this crime and violence that seems to be taking over our City?
Really, what are we to do?
If we followed the lead of City Hall, Mayor Katz, and those in charge of informing us of crimes, we could simply brush it all under the rug. We could adjust the information given to the public, adjust what the media reports on, and adjust the stats collected. We could have a City where our Mayor proudly proclaims that our Downtown is safe and we need not fear our streets. We could have a City where the Crime Stats show no violent acts. Simply remove the homicides and shootings from the listings, just as the arsons, assaults, and stabbings are missing from public view.
We could run our City like George Orwell's 1984, where words dissapear from dictionaries. We could have a City where everyone turns a blind eye to crime, just as long as it is not in the more affluent areas of town, and remove it from our thoughts completely.
Winnipeg is a great place to be in 2012. We have our hockey team back. We are building a fancy rapid transit corridor. We have a Human Rights Museum being built. We have a new football stadium hopefully opening this year. What a great City. All we have to do is erase the fact that violence is taking over our City. Just scrub away a few more statistics, and we will have that great City we know Winnipeg can be.
Lie to me baby, and tell me the North End of Winnipeg is a safe place to be.
Monday, December 12, 2011
The Roof Continues To Fall
What would you do if you saw a roof caving in on a house? What would you do if you saw an older gentleman at the house? Would you tell someone? Would you be concerned for the well being of the individual? Or would you just walk on by?
Well, I didn't just walk on by. I reported the house to the City. I took a picture of the house with the roof caving in, and I sent it to 311. That was on April 27, 2011. I wrote about this house back on July 21, including an update from the City Planning office. I was told the owner had until the end of September to tear down the back extention of the house or the City would do it themselves.
Then I did an update article on October 3, showing the roof was still falling in on itself. I guess the City Planning office did not follow through on tearing down the back extention of the house.
Yesterday I drove down the lane to find the roof is still falling in on itself. The back extention is still attached to the house. But the house is painted. At least the portions of the house that are to remain intact.
Well, I didn't just walk on by. I reported the house to the City. I took a picture of the house with the roof caving in, and I sent it to 311. That was on April 27, 2011. I wrote about this house back on July 21, including an update from the City Planning office. I was told the owner had until the end of September to tear down the back extention of the house or the City would do it themselves.
Then I did an update article on October 3, showing the roof was still falling in on itself. I guess the City Planning office did not follow through on tearing down the back extention of the house.
Yesterday I drove down the lane to find the roof is still falling in on itself. The back extention is still attached to the house. But the house is painted. At least the portions of the house that are to remain intact.
So, why is the roof still caving in? And why is the back extention still connected to the house? This issue was reported by me on April 27 of this year, and the owner had until the end of September to deal with it.
If I have my information correct, the City Planning and the By-Laws people do not have a mechanism for follow-up. They don't have a system of notification when a deadline comes due. And I guess they are busy dealing with new issues.
That means this person doesn't really have to do anything about their house. Nobody is going to check on it. Not unless some citizen contacts 311 to let them know there is something wrong.
You would think they could set up a filing system, or make a spreadsheet to notify themselves of deadlines that may come up. But why bother. The system is complaint driven, and if people don't complain, nothing gets done. Maybe I haven't complained at enough of the proper time intervals to have this issue taken care of. Or maybe there is nothing actually wrong.
More tax dollars paying more City workers, so nothing happens here.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Losing The Ambulance
The North End is losing ambulance service next year. As of January, 2012, we will no longer have ambulances dispatched from the Redwood Firestation.
We lost our Police Station on Main Street already. Our closest Police Station is now on Hartford Avenue.
I wonder how long it will be before the fire station leaves the neighbourhood as well.
We have lost all of our banks.
We have lost most of our gas stations. The closest gas station on Main Street is the Shell down by Leila. Other than that, you would have to go onto Salter Street and gas up at the Shell on Mountain or the Petro Can or Esso at Selkirk.
We have pawn shops, money marts, dollar stores and social service agencies.
In the great new plan for the future of Winnipeg, is this how City Hall sees it? Is everything proceeding according to plan?
I understand the fire trucks being dispatched from Redwood Street are staffed with first responders. They are generally at a call before the ambulance arrives anyway. And not all calls require transport to a hospital. But who decided the North End shouldn't have an ambulance in house. Does the North End not make use of ambulances enough to justify having them on hand? Or are we rethinking who needs the ambulances quicker. Maybe North Enders don't need to get to the hospital as fast as residents of other neighbourhoods. Maybe those closer to Church Ave and Sheppard St pay more taxes and warrant the ambulance dispatching from their neck of the woods.
Are all the emergency services relocating to the suburbs? How about the non-emergency services? Will we lose other city services as time goes on?
I don't get it. Why pull the ambulance dispatch from the North End? Answer me that Mayor Katz.
We lost our Police Station on Main Street already. Our closest Police Station is now on Hartford Avenue.
I wonder how long it will be before the fire station leaves the neighbourhood as well.
We have lost all of our banks.
We have lost most of our gas stations. The closest gas station on Main Street is the Shell down by Leila. Other than that, you would have to go onto Salter Street and gas up at the Shell on Mountain or the Petro Can or Esso at Selkirk.
We have pawn shops, money marts, dollar stores and social service agencies.
In the great new plan for the future of Winnipeg, is this how City Hall sees it? Is everything proceeding according to plan?
I understand the fire trucks being dispatched from Redwood Street are staffed with first responders. They are generally at a call before the ambulance arrives anyway. And not all calls require transport to a hospital. But who decided the North End shouldn't have an ambulance in house. Does the North End not make use of ambulances enough to justify having them on hand? Or are we rethinking who needs the ambulances quicker. Maybe North Enders don't need to get to the hospital as fast as residents of other neighbourhoods. Maybe those closer to Church Ave and Sheppard St pay more taxes and warrant the ambulance dispatching from their neck of the woods.
Are all the emergency services relocating to the suburbs? How about the non-emergency services? Will we lose other city services as time goes on?
I don't get it. Why pull the ambulance dispatch from the North End? Answer me that Mayor Katz.
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